And Then He Kissed Her
by searchingforstories
Summary: Lily is waking up the head boy and thinking about everything that's brought them to this point. James has something else planned. Completely Fluff. Read and Review. One shot. JP/LE


I know this is all fluff, but hey…Isn't love what it's all about?

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is an absolute genius. But she never told us about James and Lily. Why oh Why? I do not own any of these characters.

**And Then He Kissed Her**

The sun appeared suddenly behind the mountainous landscape of the valley before it. As it began its daily ascension, light filled a small room on the seventh floor in Hogwarts castle, directly into the eyes of the sleeping Head Girl.

Lily Evans opened her eyes in protest, grumbling under her breath.

_Ugh, I hate mornings_

It was an ungodly hour for anyone to be awake, but as Head Girl it was her duty to awake at the crack of dawn and begin the day with a brief patrol of the dormitories within the castle. The morning ritual was necessary to ensure the safety of the first year students who were often the targets of early morning pranksters.

She sighed as she slipped on her robe and slippers and prepared for the next dreaded ritual, waking the Head Boy. She ambled slowly down the staircase from her bedroom, into the adjoining common room where she would turn into another staircase leading up to the Head Boy's quarters.

The suites where the Head boy and Head girl resided for the year were usually separated from the other dormitories because it was never certain which house the honored party would come from. It was thought best to separate them in case they were chosen from competing houses. This year though, both students were chosen from Gryffindor House and a suite normally reserved for visiting alumni was offered to them in the event that they would rather be closer to their friends and their House.

She remembered how James Potter had jumped at the chance. As Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, James had wanted to be as close to his players as possible, so that he could surprise them whenever necessary for an early morning run or flight around the pitch. Lily hadn't really cared either way, and thought it would be nice to have her friends only a common room away. Besides, despite her annual hashing of a long forgotten quarrel with the handsome mischief maker, she had decided to swallow her pride and agree to a truce in order to make the year pass a little more smoothly. Allowing him the pleasure of choosing their quarters was seen as a peace offering in the mind of the bright red head.

As she ascended the stairs, her thoughts drifted to the sleeping 17 year old in the room above her. He had been absolutely insufferable for the first 6 years of her study at Hogwarts…

_xxxxxxxxxxxx First Year plus….xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

From the beginning of her first year at Hogwarts, Potter had been an overly enthusiastic prankster. He had taken quite fondly to attacking her with toads in her pumpkin juice and an occasional snake in her hair. All while she sat, often studying, under the oak tree beside the Great Lake.

After 4 years of being subjected to the worst treatment an ill-behaved little boy could render, James had finally changed his attention getting tactics from ill-conceived pranks to embarrassing displays of undeterred wooing. In their 5th year, James had decided the best way to get Lily's attention would be to ask her out anytime they were within speaking distance of each other. Out of her presence, he would tell any living soul that wanted to listen about his undying devotion to the beautiful redheaded Gryffindor. This proved to be especially effective at deterring any other boy who had any intentions towards Lily. (At this point James had already become very popular amongst the boys and girls in school - known for his talent on the Quidditch field, his admirable devotion to his close circle of friends and his enviable good looks.) Most boys would rather turn their attentions elsewhere than risk the ire of the great James Potter.

Lily, on the other hand, had never forgiven James for the continuous assaults on her privacy and ego. She'd made it her mission to squash his affections for her, in hopes that he would finally turn away and leave her alone for good. This proved to be hopeless.

Eventually, the attractive 7th year Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain (being equal to James in celebrity) invited Lily to join him for the first trip of the year to the Village of Hogsmeade. Their relationship flourished quickly and soon Lily had her first boyfriend. James grudgingly directed his attentions towards a beautiful blond Ravenclaw and Lily was left to enjoy her new beau. But, much to the displeasure of the succession of beautiful blondes and brunettes on his arm, James had never stopped asking her out any moment they were alone together.

Alas, the year ended and her beautiful Hufflepuff was off to the Ministry and on to the next girl. Lily was too proud to admit it, but it broke her heart when he had chosen to end their relationship. It wasn't until she received her Hogwarts letter informing her that she would be Head Girl, that she was able to break from the gloom that had surrounded her break up, and she arrived at King's Cross with renewed new hope for the coming year.

It was there that she discovered her worst nightmare had come true. The sole proprietor of her inability to attain a proper boyfriend (before her heart had been crushed) was now Head Boy. On the train there had been an unfortunate incident, whereby Lily had inadvertently insulted the Potter family name. Feeling remorseful and terribly embarrassed, Lily had suggested a truce and James had agreed - on the condition that they would at least try to become friends.

_xxxxxxxx Back in the present xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

James Potter had already been awake for at least 15 minutes. He was lying in his bed, waiting in anticipation for the Head girl to knock on his door. A smile spread across his chiseled face as he heard her dragging her slippered feet up the staircase.

Lily had made it her own personal mission to ensure that James was awake with her and prowling the halls at the same forsaken hour that she had been forced to keep. Usually, she would open the door cautiously, whisper his name a few times and then storm in (exasperated with his inability to wake up) and shake him until he showed the first signs of alertness. Today would be different.

This morning he had charmed a wandering blue jay to wake him as soon as the sun rose. He wanted to be ready for the easily flustered redhead who would grace his presence at any moment.

James heard the soft knock and a smile slowly spread across his face.

"James?" Of course he wouldn't answer her. He needed her to come inside.

A more urgent knock sounded at the door. "James!" The door knob turned and the girl of his dreams approached, tiptoeing into his quaint quarters. Exasperated by the repetition of the annoying task of waking her counterpart, she approached the sleeping Gryffindor less than carefully.

Suddenly, James sprang from his bed and shouted " Good Morning, " as he grabbed the beautiful girl by her waist and brought her down with him onto his bed in one graceful swoop.

"James!!!!"

"What? Isn't it a good morning?" The mischievous smile that she had come to love so much had almost made her forget about the inappropriate position that James had now put her in.

"Let me up James, what if someone comes in." James Potter stood at an impressive 6 feet 2 inches and had the strong athletic body of a world class athlete. In his attempt to keep her in bed with him, James had pinned Lily underneath him and Lily couldn't help but relish in the confusion she felt over enjoying the presence of his body or escaping his iron grip. She wriggled underneath him in a half-hearted attempt to get away from the sinewy body holding her captive.

"Aw, come on Evans. You know no one else has the password but us. Live a little. Stay in bed with me and tell me all your dreams."

_Tell me all your dreams?_

Only James could make such a simple statement sound so seductive. Lily knew he was only putting off their duties in an attempt to demonstrate, once again, how he no longer took their head duties seriously.

James of course, had other plans for their morning. It had only been two months since they had started their morning ritual and he had already become less interested in the seriousness of their job and more and more interested in the inner workings of his attractive counterpart.

"James, Morning Patrol is important. We can't just ditch. And besides…" she hesitated.

"I don't think it's really appropriate for me to be in bed with you." She had said it quickly, wincing at the sound of the words. She looked at him underneath her lashes, hiding the smile that would surface at any moment.

"Lily?" he gasped with fake astonishment.

"Yes?"

An eyebrow raised on his smirking face as he answered. "You've thought of us in bed together?"

"James! That's not what I said." She shoved his warm body from on top of her and got up. She was now standing beside the small bed looking down at the satisfied tease.

"Okay, Okay. I'll get up!" He groaned. He jumped over to where she was standing and sat before her, staring up into her green eyes. He looked at her for a long time leaving an uncomfortable silence between them. Slowly a smile stretched across his face.

The room started spinning. At any moment she knew she would fall to the floor. She wasn't sure when it had happened, but sometime during the course of the last two months James Potter had developed the uncanny ability of making her lose her breath and if she didn't breath soon she knew she would faint.

_Do something….Say something…..Oh Merlin, Don't let me faint._

James was keenly aware of the new affect he had on the Head Girl. He'd noticed it just the other day…

They were late for a Prefect meeting and Lily was running up the stairs to their suite, rushing to retrieve some notes from her bedroom. She had come back down the stairs too quickly and miscalculated the bottom two steps. Thankfully, James was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and had caught her fall.

He had reached out to catch her without giving it a second thought. She fell into his arms in a clumsy heap and he picked her up and set her upright in front of him. It was then that he noticed her wide, emerald eyes and the sudden intake of breath. He looked at her…waiting for her to react to her clumsy mistake. Instead, she stared up into his eyes and never bothered to exhale, nor inhale for that matter. There was no mistaking what he had seen. He affected her, almost as much as she affected him.

It was then that he had decided that this morning he would be taking matters into his own hands.

He reached out for her hands and filled them with his own. He looked down at their entwined fingers and took in a deep breath before bringing her closer to him and leaning his head against her stomach. He closed his eyes as he heard her swallow.

"Lily?" The hoarse whisper moved something inside of her.

Lily took in breath after breath, anything to keep her from falling faint at the touch of the boy who was now wrapping his arms around her waist.

"James, Please."

He looked up at her with glossy eyes. This was a look she had never seen before and she was scared.

_What is he doing?…Oh god, I would trade my soul to look into his eyes like this forever. _

"What?" he asked casually, smiling at her now, he wasn't letting her off that easy.

She tried to take a step back removing his hands off her hips. He wouldn't let her go and she let out a nervous laugh.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You mean, besides trying to get out of head duties?" His smile curved into the right side of his check.

She cleared her throat and spoke again. Her voice carried a slight edge that he recognized from previous years experience.

"Well, if you didn't want to get up you should have just said so." She quickly slid past his embrace and started for the door.

"Wait, Lily?" He pleaded.  
Utterly incensed, she turned around. "What James?"

"Why do you keep running from me?" She heard the words come out of his mouth, but she couldn't bring herself to grasp the implications of the question she couldn't answer. She ran because if she didn't, she would lose herself in those hazel eyes and that boyish grin. She would give herself over to his strong convictions and unwavering loyalty. She would turn away from all reason in the face of his humbling intellect. Not to mention his virile male anatomy. Ultimately, she would never be able to turn away from the comfort of his arms or beauty in his smile. If she didn't keep running she would never recover and she refused to go there.

Her hand reached for the door and she closed her eyes before she turned the knob. Slowly, Lily turned towards her long-suffering admirer.

"James, have you ever thought about what would happen if you finally caught me?"

The question caught him off guard, "What do you mean?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, you've been chasing after me for so long. And now, we're here. Alone together. In the most opportune situation, for what I'm sure, you've been planning for quite awhile. And I just can't help but wonder. Have you thought about what happens afterwards?"

He hesitated for just a second. Then he arose from the bed and walked over to where Lily stood, trembling. He raised his hand and ran his fingers across her cheek and then behind her ear, finally grasping the back of her head.

"Of course I have Lily. I've thought about it for the last 6 years. What is it that you think I've been doing? Playing a game? What kind of person would withstand the constant rejection you've thrown at me, only to walk away after finally winning? Don't you know me by now Lily? I am in love with you. I have been in love with you from the moment I first saw you boarding the train to school in first year.

My childish pranks were feeble attempts to get you to notice me. To talk to me. To remind you that I was here. Waiting. But it was too much, because when I was finally ready to make you mine…you hated me. But I didn't give up, I never gave up. Even when you chose that git Hufflepuff, I waited." The irony wasn't lost on her.

"Then the most amazing thing happened, Lily. You insulted me and it hurt you. I jumped at the chance. Maybe we could be friends? And you agreed. We've become great friends since then. I think I know you better than I know anyone…and you know what Lily? I like you. I really like you. I could spend the rest of my life talking to you and being with you because I know that you really are my favorite person." He took a step closer to her. Situating himself directly in front of her and placing his other hand towards the small off her back.

"I'm going to kiss you now." He said.

"After that…you and I will finally become the brilliant couple we were always meant to be. Eventually, we'll get married and have many beautiful children who will all have your beautiful eyes and my abominable hair. And then Lily Evans…soon to be Potter. We will live happily ever after."

And then he kissed her.


End file.
